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R.M. Dünki & B. Ambühl, PHYSICA A 230: 544-553 (1996)
Key-Words:
Scale-Invariance, Schizophrenia, Intermittency, Temporal Patterns, Power-Laws
Investigations into the patterns of schizophrenia reveal evidence of scaling
properties in temporal behaviour. This is shown in the spectral properties
of mid-range and long-range (up to two years) daily recordings from a
sample of patients drawn at the therapeutic dwelling SOTERIA
(Ambühl et al. 1992)
and refs. therein) of the Psychiatric University Hospital in Bern.
The therapeutic setting is unique in that it tries to avoid treatment by
medication.
Power law behaviour has been found within fractal walk analysis and Fourier
spectra for the daily fluctuations.
A simple dynamic principle, based on a generic intermittency model,
is put in relation to these time sereneric intermittency model,
is put in relation to these time series thus predicting an additional
scaling law for the distribution P(T) of time spans T between successive
hospitalizations. Testing this hypothesis with our data shows only
insignificant deviations.
A possible role of this dynamic principle in the risk assignment
of psychotic phases is explored with the help of an example.
Ruedi Duenki
Mon Dec 23 10:41:26 MET 1996